Mike Whitehead is not wanted by Las Vegas Police but is sought as a “person of interest” in a case involving an alleged sexual assault and marijuana-grow operation.

No charges have been filed on the mixed martial arts veteran as of yet.

“I want to make it perfectly clear (that) there is no arrest warrant out for him,” Barbara Morgan, a public information officer for the Las Vegas Police Department, today told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com).

Morgan said LVPD detectives went to Whitehead’s residence on April 10 to serve a search warrant for evidence of the alleged assault and found him absent. They did, however, discover a marijuana-grow operation that consisted of at least 50 plants, Morgan said.

Upon discovery of the marijuana plants, the detectives called narcotics officers, who in turn issued a search warrant for the plants and confiscated them.

Morgan said the LVPD has contacted Whitehead and expects him to speak to detectives in the next 24 hours. He is the sole suspect in the sexual-assault case, she said.

“He’s not on the run; he’s not hiding,” Morgan said. “I’m sure he’ll probably talk to our detectives. We just need to get his side of the story.”

Morgan said the LVPD will decide whether to file charges against Whitehead following the interview.

Whitehead’s voicemail inbox was full when MMAjunkie.com tried to contact him.

The 28-year-old Whitehead (24-7 MMA, 1-1 SF) perhaps is best known to MMA fans for his appearance on “The Ultimate Fighter 2.” After his disappointing performance on the show and a subsequent loss to Keith Jardine at UFC 57, the promotion released Whitehead. He then served stints with the International Fight League and Affliction Entertainment before signing with Strikeforce this past May.

After back-to-back wins, which included a unanimous-decision win over Kevin Randleman in his Strikeforce debut, White and was knocked out by Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal in his most recent performance at “Strikeforce: Evolution” this past December.

Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker declined to comment on Whitehead’s status with the promotion.

“Nobody knows what’s going right now, and everything is speculation,” Jay Hieron, Whitehead’s longtime friend and training partner, told MMAjunkie.com. “Hopefully, it’s not that bad. And (with) whatever happens, hopefully he gets his life back on track.”

Steven Marrocco is a staff reporter for MMAjunkie.com and an MMA contributor for The Vancouver Sun.